Green Like the Color

by Green Markos

A little girl named Green, like the color. Born on the island of Maui in the 1970’s and raised on the Oregon coast during a time of counterculture and free love. This is a heartrending and poetic journey into her stark realities, bold truth and offbeat rhymes.

Genres: Poetry, Biography Memoir, Memoir

82 pages, Paperback

First published March 10, 2015

About the author

Green Markos has a writing style that moves fluidly between poetry, storytelling, and prose. The observations she builds on are autobiographical and punctuated by her own intimate and intensely personal experiences.

She is the author of five books:
Green Like the Color - Memoir
Crows and Honey - Memoir
Not Your Kind of Pretty - Poems
The Skinny Shelter - Poems
About Your Mother - Memoir

Reviews

[Angel · Rating 5 out of 5]

To say this is a memoir written in poetry would be an understatement. This eloquent book of poetry and prose is written like a lyrical diary which puts me in the mind of a flower child's perspective. Taking those who were alive in those times aback to Woodstock(1969), memories of free love and peace rallies, a staple in history that some remember fondly and others maybe not so. But, nostalgic all the same. Green Markos shows there is truth in remembrance and she does so with no grandiosity, just simplicity in its rawest form. To tell your own truth without fear is what true expression is all about. Great work!

[Philip Dodd · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am glad I came upon this book, Green Like the Color: A Memoir by Green Markos. It is an unusual book. A work of poetic prose, which occasionally flows into verse, I would call it. Unlike some attempts at poetic prose, it never sounds forced or excruciatingly precious, rather only right and natural. Reading this short book was like listening to a young American woman, talking about her childhood, sitting relaxed, in a chair, on her porch. In a good book there ought to be at least some memorable, quotable lines, I think. In this one, I found quite a few, like this one:
"I wanted to leave a few ripples in the water
where I had jumped."
In her book, Green Markos writes of "cherry red wagons glinting in the sunlight", of an ancient, twisted tree called "night elephant", and of the "wooden whale", but most of all she writes of her mother and father and of how their attempt at an unconventional life led to failure, break down, and parting. With the clean, clear eye of a child, she writes movingly of how it affected her mother and herself when her father left home, abandoning his family behind him. There are lighter moments in the story, too, which is well worth reading. I recommend this book to those who like reading memoirs, poetry, stories, finely told.

[Kiana Donae · Rating 5 out of 5]

"It's my turn to be the story teller and This is just my version" - Indeed, and that is what poetry and prose is all about. Writing beautiful poetry or prose isn't always about following the rules. It is about following your heart. Markos definitely tells her story and she does so with a raw remembrance of her childhood. From living on "pennies and dimes" to "normal small town life" and she does so with the beauty of language. These poetic memoirs weave words into vivid pictures. Almost beautifully haunting as you see "Five children all together./ We grew up, we grew in, and then we grew out of one another." and their lives with parents that are less than perfect.

And the author ends on this note:
"Now forward on your own two feet/ You are free little girl/ Run" - I loved every page, ever word, every line. 5 Stars and a must read whether you are poetry lover or not.

[Gianna · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is hands-down the most interesting memoir that I have ever read. It is written in a creative, poetic and honest way, void of any pretension or restriction. Using a unique writing style and by cataloging her experiences and perceptions from birth to the age of twelve, Green really channels her inner child and gives the reader a privileged glimpse into her varied, and sometimes tumultuous, past.

In the preface, she likens her writing to "A therapy in laying my past to rest while showing respect to the process. The process of becoming who I am today." This is akin to the ocean landscape that she brings to life throughout her stories - constantly evolving and changing and always new.

While Green's book isn't very long, it packs a huge emotional punch that will leave you not only thinking more deeply about life, but will be a book that you will return to time and time again for inspiration and insight into the very nature of the human spirit. I look forward to reading more work by this truly unique writer and artist.

[Daniel Joseph · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lyrically written, free & fierce. An awesome telling of the author's early years. Pain and loss, but also joy, wonder, and love speak clearly from the page as scenes from Green's past are retold. Highly recommended as required reading for students in the helping professions.